We've. Got. FOOTBALL.

First Football Game, Jackson Holiday in the MLB, Antitrust Lawsuits in the UFC

 👋Good Morning Stump Nation!

Oh. My. God. WE’VE GOT FOOTBALLLLLLL! Yes it's just the Hall of Fame Game but man we’re pumped over here at the Stump. Bears-Texans tonight at 8:00 PM ET. In other news, USA Basketball got a much stronger victory over South Sudan, Jackson Holiday has arrived in the MLB, and we’ve got Antitrust Lawsuits in the UFC! Let’s STUMP!

Podcast Links Below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮

What year did the International Olympic Committee allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympics?

  • A. 1992

  • B. 1984

  • C. 1988

  • D. 1980

  • E. 2004

Answer at the bottom of The Stump!

ON THIS DAY🗓️

On this day in 1984 — Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. becomes only the second player in MLB history to appear in 2,000 consecutive games, behind only New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.

Ripken Jr. went on to play a total of 3001 games in the MLB over a 21-year career.

He was named an All-Star for 19 consecutive seasons and won 2 MVP awards and 8 Silver Slugger awards en route to an induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

YESTERDAY IN SPORTS📰

Breaking News…

  • 🏊️ Frenchmen Leon Marchand had a heck of a night in his home country, two gold medals, two different strokes, two Olympic records!

  • ⚾️Baseball’s No. 1 prospect, Jackson Holiday, hammers a Grand Slam in his first at bat back up in the Majors with the Orioles!

  • 🏈NFL to implement and test a new “Hawk-Eye” system which will be able to measure whether first downs were reached or not through a series of cameras implemented into the stadiums!

  • 🏀Cavs agree to terms on an extension with their big man, Jarrett Allen, 3-years / $91m

Top Final Scores💯

  • ⚾️Yanks win close one in Philly, 6-5, Red Sox walk off the Mariners, 3-2, Twins handle Mets, 8-3, Padres win big of Dodgers, 8-1

  • ⚽️US Women’s Soccer takes down Australia, 2-1

  • 🏀USA Men’s Basketball handles South Sudan, 103-86, thanks to strong games by Bam Adebayo and KD

  • 🥇Katie Ledecky SPRINTS to her 8th Gold Medal with a HUGE win in the 1500m freestyle

What Caught Our Eye👀

STUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️

Let’s Talk Anti-Trust Lawsuits and the UFC!

My polisci background is purring getting ready to write this. I know it may seem boring, but we’re talking multiBILLIONS of dollars that the UFC may be liable for, so maybe just skim this one?

If you haven’t heard that the UFC is getting sued for antitrust tactics, you heard it here first!

“But how could I possibly miss this”? “I love the UFC, how didn’t I hear about this”? You may be thinking this or something similar, and these are all logical questions. It’s probably because this lawsuit was first filed in 2014.

The lawsuit alleges that the UFC has gained an unfair advantage in the mixed martial arts industry through years of anti-competitive tactics, resulting in suppressed fighter wages.

Just yesterday, US District Judge Richard Boulware, I like to call him Dicky Bouls, denied a preliminary approval for a settlement between the two sides, The agreement would have seen the UFC pay out over $335 million to current and former athletes.

The UFC, obviously, was not very happy about this. Obviously $335 million is not a small sum of money for a company to pay out, especially because the UFC is valued around $12 billion. However, when this finally goes to trial, it can go one of two ways:

  1. The UFC loses, they are forced to pay BILLIONS of dollars to the current and former athletes, and the US government fries their first big fish in the professional sports antitrust saga.

  2. The UFC could win, which is great for them, but then the fighters get NOTHING. 10+ years of fighting for their worth and they have nothing to show for it.

Hence why the two wanted to reach a settlement. Seems like the lesser of two evils for both sides. But nope, Dicky Bouls wants to see this one through.

Hopefully that gave you a TINY insight into what the heck is going on in the world of the UFC and antitrust policy in American Democracy when it comes to professional sports.

I’ll step on down from my soap box now, enjoy your day!

JUICE STATION🧃

Quote of the Day

“If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?”

Joe Namath

Not an Olympian, but a damn good quarterback. And a pretty aspirational one at that.

Song of the Day

Waving Flag

K’NAAN

In honor of that one Coca-Cola commercial at the 2010 World Cup. Pretty catchy.

Glue Guy of the Day

Defined: Glue Guy (Noun, Verb, Adj., etc.) - a person, thing, idea, or thought that holds together the larger group. Not the star, not the main character, but a hard hat and lunch pale type who knows its role. The GLUE of the group.

Door Close Button

The quintessential button when you think of an elevator.

The elevator doors just don’t seem to close as fast when you’re not pushing the button repeatedly.

Especially when “bad breath guy” is headed towards the elevator.

WHAT TO WATCH📺️

NFL🏈: Goosebumps writing ‘NFL’. We’ve got the Hall of Fame Game tonight!

  • Texans vs Bears (8:00 PM ET) in Canton, Ohio!

MLB⚾️: Smaller slate today…

  • Orioles @ Guardians (6:40 PM ET), Marlins @ Braves (7:20 PM ET), Rockies @ Angels (9:38 PM ET)

Olympics🏅: We are ALL over the map today in terms of what’s on, so let’s get some high quality highlights!

  • US Women’s Basketball vs Belgium (3:00 PM ET)

  • 3×3 men’s and women’s basketball with multiple matches throughout the day

  • The GOLF tees of at 3:00 AM ET, so make sure you check the scores when you see this!

TRIVIA ANSWER

A. 1988! The International Olympic Committee started to permit professional athletes to compete in the games in 1988 by leaving it up to the individual sporting federations to decide upon this ruling. Before this point, the Olympic Games were only open to “amateur” athletes, meaning those who weren’t financially compensated for it.